Honeywell, GE Appeal EU Rebuff

General Electric Co. and Honeywell International Inc. on Wednesday filed appeals of the European Union’s decision blocking their $41-billion merger.

The EU announced July 3 that it opposed the GE-Honeywell agreement, the first time it ever bore sole responsibility for stopping an all-American deal. The appeals were filed with the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg.

“We believe there were errors of substance and procedure,” GE spokesman Gary Sheffer said.

But a decision on the appeal could take years, so even a successful appeal would be too late for the merger to go forward, Sheffer noted.

“We believe that it’s not feasible for the appeal to be decided in time for completion of the merger,” Sheffer said.

GE wants to dispute the commission’s finding that the company has a dominant position in the jet engine market. That ruling, if allowed to stand, could make it difficult for GE to make future acquisitions.

The court has yet to annul a merger prohibition since the EU began reviewing them under its current laws a decade ago.